


The Last Day

by watcherofworlds



Series: A Friendship Forged in Struggle [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Captain America: The First Avenger, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 18:46:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8458843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watcherofworlds/pseuds/watcherofworlds
Summary: The events of Bucky's last day in New York before he ships out, preceding Steve's entrance into Project Rebirth





	

_June 14, 1943_

"You just don't know when to give up, do ya?

The words came drifting down to Bucky from further up the street as he walked, going through his usual routine of checking the alleys he passed for Steve in the middle of yet another fight he'd started but couldn't finish. He paused, and a moment later an all-too-familiar voice responded with

"I could do this all day."

Bucky sighed. It looked like he was going to have to pull Steve's ass out of the fire. Again. He jogged up the street in the direction of the voices and was greeted by the sound of flesh striking flesh and a crash as a man clearly intent on beating the living daylights out of Steve knocked him down against a row of trash cans standing against a fence at the back of an alley. The man stood over him, waiting to hit him again when he got up.

"Hey!"Bucky called, grabbing the man's sleeve and spinning him around to face him."Pick on someone your own size."

The man grunted, probably louder than was strictly necessary, as he took a swing at Bucky, one which he easily dodged. The man's momentum sent him stumbling, and Bucky used it to punch him in the face and then plant a foot in his rear, sending him careening out of the alley.

"Sometimes I think you like getting punched,"he said, turning to Steve, who was getting to his feet.

"I had him on the ropes,"Steve said. He groaned in pain as he reached up to wipe blood away from a cut above his eye. Bucky resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Steve's obviously false statement. He spotted what appeared to be enlistment papers laying on the ground nearby, having apparently fallen out of Steve's pocket.

"How many times is this?"he asked, as he picked them up."Ah, you're from Paramus now. You know it's illegal to lie on your enlistment form. And seriously, Jersey?"Seeming to finally notice Bucky's uniform, Steve looked him up and down and asked

"You get your orders?"Bucky inclined his head.

"The 107th,"he said."Sergeant James Barnes, shipping out for England first thing tomorrow." Steve looked away from him and stared at the ground. He dusted off his hands.

"I should be going,"he said quietly. Silence fell between them.

"Ah come on,"Bucky finally said, slinging an arm around Steve's neck and shoving him close before releasing him. "It's my last night. We gotta get you cleaned up."

"Why, where are we going?"Steve asked.

"The future,"Bucky replied, handing him the folded newspaper he was carrying. It fell open to an ad for their destination: The Exposition of Tomorrow 1943.

Back at the apartment, Steve sat on the bathroom counter, watching as Bucky shuffled though the first aid supplies scattered across it, the gutted contents of the now empty medicine cabinet. Antiseptic, bandages, cotton balls, tape: first his mother and now Bucky kept the medicine cabinet well stocked-and for the same reason. Bucky soaked a cotton ball in antiseptic and started dabbing at the cuts on Steve's face. The sting of the antiseptic made him wince. Bucky mumbled an apology. He dropped the cotton ball in the trash and stepped back to examine his handiwork.

"Go change your shirt,"he said."This one's got blood on it." Steve nodded and hopped down off the counter, leaving Bucky to the task of sorting through the mess he had made of the medicine cabinet. When he emerged from his room a few minutes later he found Bucky waiting for him, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other, clearly eager to be off. He barely gave Steve enough time to put on his coat before he was out the door, out of the building, and on the sidewalk. Steve had to jog to keep up, and even then he soon fell behind. Bucky must have heard him wheezing because he grimaced apologetically and slowed his pace. They walked in silence until they reached the expo.

"I don't see what your problem is,"Bucky said as they entered. Neither of them had brought up Steve's fifth failed enlistment, but he could tell it was still bothering him. "You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know there's three and a half million women here."

"Well, I'd settle for just one,"Steve replied.

"Good thing I took care of that,"Bucky said,a grin spreading across his face. He lifted a hand over his head and waved to a pair of girls waiting some distance away, whom Steve hadn't noticed yet.

"Hey Bucky!"one of them called,returning his wave. Steve looked at him, exasperation clear on his face.

"What'd you tell her about me?"he asked under his breath.

"Only the good stuff,"Bucky promised in an equally hushed tone.

"Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the world of tomorrow,"an announcer's voice boomed out over the speakers as they made their way to the main part of the exposition."A greater world. A better world."At about the same time, music started up over at the stage. Cheers accompanied the music.

"Oh my god,"one of the girls said."It's starting!"She giggled, grabbed Bucky, and ran for the stage. Bucky grinned and the other girl along with him, with Steve following reluctantly behind.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!"one of the chorus girls on the stage announced. The cheers rose to a crescendo as the man in question took the stage. The woman who had introduced him crossed the stage and handed him a microphone. In return, he handed her the hat he was wearing, then bent her over backwards and kissed her. There was a cymbal crash from the band. The woman place the hat on her head and sauntered away, a smug smile plastered on her face. A woman's voice called out: "We love you Howard!"

"Ladies and gentlemen,"Howard Stark said. A hush fell over the audience. Steve offered the girl in front of him, the one who was supposed to be his date, a snack. She turned around and gave him a disgusted look before turning back around to face the stage. Steve looked down at his hands, confused and dejected.

 _What did I do wrong?_  he wondered.

"What if I told you that in just a few short years your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all,"Howard Stark continued from up on the stage."Yes."

"Thanks Mandy,"he added as his showgirls began removing the tires from the car on the stage behind him, revealing some kind of machines in their place. Steve wondered which one of them was Mandy.

"With Stark Ribitic Reversion technology, you'll be able to do just that,"Stark said, and turned a dial on the control box in front of him. The car behind him started to rise into the air. The crowd gasped.

"Holy cow,"Bucky muttered. Suddenly the car crashed back down to the stage in a shower of sparks. The crowd gasped and leaped back. The girl clinging to Bucky's arm laughed quietly. Steve and Bucky exchanged an amused glance.

"I did say a few years, didn't I?"Howard Stark said smoothly, although there was something decidedly nervous about his expression. There was a smattering of polite applause from the audience. As the band started a new song, Steve glanced around, searching for a way out of the boring and awkward situation he had found himself in. Spotting a sign for an enlistment office, he knew instantly what he had to do.

Bucky laughed.

"Hey Steve, what do you say we treat these girls..."he started to say, but then trailed off when he turned around and realized that Steve was no longer there. His face fell, worry and dread settling in the pit of his stomach. Steve could be anywhere, and any number of things could have happened to him. For all Bucky knew, he could be lying in an alley somewhere, too weak to call for help, slowly bleeding to death... fighting back panic, he began frantically searching the faces of the crowd around him, hoping to catch a glimpse of his wayward brother. Then he spotted the sign for the enlistment office, and irritation quickly replaced his fear.

"Excuse me ladies,"Bucky said, and ran off.

He found Steve staring at an image of himself projected on a photograph of a faceless soldier in front of him. The projected image of his face only came up to where the soldier's chin would have been.

"Come on, you're kind of missing the point of a double date,"Bucky said, grabbing Steve by the shoulder and turning him around. "We're taking the girls dancing." Steve understood the implied meaning behind Bucky's use of the word "we're". It meant _I'm taking the girls dancing, and you, Steve Rogers, are coming with me even if I have to drag you there._

Despite knowing that, he replied "You go ahead. I'll catch up with you." There was a long pause. Patriotic music played over hidden speakers, filling the silence.

"You really gonna do this again?"Bucky finally asked.

"Well, it's a fair. I'm gonna try my luck,"Steve explained.

"As who, Steve from Ohio?"Bucky demanded, frustration evident in his posture and voice. "They'll catch you. Worse, they'll actually take you." 

"Look, I know you don't think I can do this-"Steve said.

"This is a back alley Steve, it's war!"Bucky interjected.

"I know it's a war-"Steve started to explain, but Bucky interrupted him again.

"Why are you so keen to fight?"There are so many important jobs!"

"What do you want me to do, collect scrap metal in my little red wagon?"Steve demanded.

"Yes!"Bucky snapped."Why not-"

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky!"

"I don't-"

"Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me."

"Right,"Bucky grumbled."Cause you got nothing to prove."Steve was about to reply, but was interrupted by a woman calling"Hey Sarge! Are we going dancing?"Bucky turned, spreading his arms wide.

"Yes we are!"he replied. He turned back to Steve.

"Don't do anything stupid until I get back,"he told him.

"How can I?"Steve asked as he started to walk away."You're taking all the stupid with you."Bucky stopped, turned, and walked back toward him.

"You're a punk,"he said.

"Jerk,"Steve muttered, and they hugged, embracing like brothers."Be careful."Once again, Bucky turned his back on him and started to walk away.

"Don't win the war till I get there!"Steve called after him. He turned to face him for the third time, saluted him sharply, then finally turned and walked out of the enlistment office, to where the girls were waiting.

"Come on girls,"he said, slinging his arms across their shoulders."They're playing our song."


End file.
